Change In Fahrenheit 451

At the start of the book, Montag loves fire. He sees it as something that can destroy evil and alter reality. He thinks that “It [is] a pleasure to burn” (1). When he burns the books that people illegally hide in

With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history.” (Bradbury 5). Montag lived in a society where books were burned instead of read,people never admired the little things in life, they always were focused on technology or things that don’t matter. No one took the time to be curious about life and what life is truly about. This quote from the book truly shows how this dystopia was. Instead of firefighters putting out fires like they would in today’s society, they would start

In the beginning of the book Ray Bradbury shows how Montog reacts to fire when he is ignorant. Montag did not think about what he was doing while he burned books because he had not began reading books himself. “Montag grinned the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back by flame. He knew that when he returned to the firehouse, he might wink at himself, a minstrel man, burnt corked, in the mirror.(4)” This quote shows Montag's outlook on fire before he began reading books himself. Montag was a complex character in Fahrenheit 451. His views constantly change as the story progresses. In the end of the book, Bradbury showed him and his reactions to fire where, after his ignorance had been lifted. He had realized that it could do more than cause destruction and take away pieces of art away, but that it could help bring people together. Bradbury shows this when montag finds people come together around fire rather than be pulled apart because of it: “It was not only the fire that was different. It was the silence that was concerned with all of the world.(146)” Montag looked at the fire at the end of the book and felt happy and at peace with the world. He did not feel anger or a resistance to the fire, but he was one with it and was no longer ignorant to how special books

Writing this novel Bradbury has let other readers feel close to him allowing them to feel like they can relate to him through his stories as well as Montag. Bradbury and Montag relate because they know what is expected of them to succeed and satisfy themselves. Montag holds the responsibility as being a fireman and burning books instead he keeps them other characters in the story can relate who have escaped the society and they will also help him to do the same. They both feel they need to catch up on their past and make the most of their life while they have it. “ Montag opines on several occasions throughout the novel that he needs to catch up with the memories of the past.” They both love books and would

Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner. Burn ‘em to ashes, then burn the ashes’” (Bradbury 6). Montag truly believes this slogan of the firemen, at least in the beginning. Society in the world of Fahrenheit 451 has been conditioned to hate books, taught that they are bringers of destruction and ruin. Montag, having no reason not to believe this, goes along with the societal expectations and dutifully uses fire to destroy the information contained in the printed words. Even when he meets Clarisse, a young girl that thoroughly puzzles him, he maintains this view. After all, he’s never known anything else. “Montag grinned the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back by flame” (Bradbury 2). He is indistinguishable from anybody else in this regard. He loves to burn things, he thinks it’s a pleasure to burn things, as does the rest of society. However, these views change over

Thesis Statement: As the protagonist, Montag undergoes many changes throughout the book due to several characters that function as catalysts in his life.

As the plot presented itself, fire did also. Fire was used as a solution to get rid of society’s ills. Ills in this society include nonconformity, overflow in wisdom and knowledge, and government doubt or mistrust. They all derived from one common factor: books. Beatty claimed that without books “…all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against. So! A book is a loaded gun in the house next door” (28). Books were the greatest evil, because it places ideas of controversy and critical thinking into the minds of readers. Explaining to Montag the quick fix to the trouble of books, Beatty said, “And so when houses were finally fireproofed completely, all over the world there was no longer need of firemen for the old purposes. They were given the new job, as custodians of our peace of mind…” (28). As these issues became more and more prominent with time, something to subdue or suppress them was needed. Fire was the answer. So, in their noble position as firemen, Montag and his coworkers destroyed any detected books with fire immediately. This way, residents cannot read them and implant radical ideas. The

Finally, throughout the novel Bradbury presents a conflict between ignorance and understanding. The general society is being numbed into believing that knowledge makes people disagree with each other and unhappy. To prevent people from reading and gaining knowledge, the firemen burn all books. By committing these actions, they are promoting sameness and ignorance, to supposedly maintain happiness among society. Captain Beatty explains the history of firemen to Montag, speaking of their society’s view of equality. “We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the constitution says, but everyone made equal . . . A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach man’s mind.” (Bradbury, page 58) Captain Beatty is hinting that books encourage people to question authority and think about why things are done the way they are

Society has changed dramatically. In the book, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, not everyone is normal like they should be. People are numb to the world and to the things around them.

Guy Montag is a man that cannot think for himself and enjoys following the government’s orders. The novel introduces him with one of his thoughts, “It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (Bradbury 1). On his way home from work one day, Guy meets a young girl named Clarisse McClellan. She’s the only person who questions his actions and challenges him to start thinking about why he burns books. Clarisse asks Montag if he ever reads the books that he burns, Montag laughs and says, “That’s against the law!” (Bradbury 5). Montag has been so brainwashed and ignorant about burning books, but Clarisse gives him new ideas by continuing to create doubts in his mind. She talks to Montag about the firemen from the past and how they were different then they are now. Clarisse says to Montag, “Is it true that long ago

After taking Honors Written and Oral Communication freshman year I have changed as a communicator. I have grown in many areas as a writer and speaker; however, I have also have skills that need improvement. From the Fahrenheit 451 essay to the six-word memoir, my writing capabilities and experience has changed. I have sincerely grown in certain areas whereas I have also fell short in other areas.

Specifically, when Montag realizes the suns ability to burn time and the firemens ability to burn fathomable objects ends in the destruction of everything, he begins the path to enlightenment. The author says “The sun burned every day. It burned Time. The world rushed in a circle and turned on its axis and time was busy burning the years and the people anyway, without any help from him. So if he burnt things with the firemen, and the sun burnt Time, that meant everything burned. One of them had to stop burning. The sun wouldn't, certainly.” When Montag realizes how insignificant his actions are, and accepts that the world would continue living with or without him burning, he becomes enlightened. He accepts that it's useless to do something useless. Why destroy when everything gets destroyed on its own? It's a waste of time and

Montag was first shown as a person who loves to burn book but, after Montag saw the death of the lady and the books he realizes, “...There must be something in books, things we can’t, to make a woman stay in a burning house…”(Bradbury 48) the government is hiding what books are trying to show us and that is what he’s realizing. He now knows that the truth lies in the book and we’re getting false information, and that is what Bradbury is trying to show us. Montag also knows that firemen were different back then and not what the government is actually showing us. Before the death of the lady he tells Beatty, “Didn’t firemen prevent fires rather than stoke them up and get them going”(Bradbury 31) he finds out from Clarisse the truth of firemen and not what the government is telling us when Beatty reads, “...First Firemen:Benjamin Franklin”(Bradbury 32) to show that firemen were book burners since the beginning in 1790 but. In reality it was to water down

He claims, “If there was no solution, well then now there was no problem either. Fire was best for everything” (Bradbury 116). Montag again perceives burning as a gratifying and effective mechanism to deal with issues. His character has become dismissive, convincing himself that, “there was no problem,” when he clearly found flaws in society that had yet to be resolved. Montag also sees this superiority in himself which is most clearly exhibityed when he compares his views to the views of others in his society. He says,“They don’t know that this is all one huge big blazing meteor that makes a pretty fire in space, but that someday it’ll have to hit” (Bradbury 103). By creating a distinction between himself and the other people in his world, Montag exhibits his selfish belief that his knowledge makes him superior to all others. He feels all-knowing and therefore invincible, like

There are many differences between Fahrenheit 451 movie directed by François Truffaut and the book by Ray Bradbury. In the movie, the sound effects and music add suspense and curiosity such as when the fire truck is moving there is a suspenseful music that makes the viewer wonder where the fire truck is heading. Guy Montag stayed mostly the same, with a few minor differences. The general idea that Firemen set fires to books stayed the same too. Some noticeable differences are the changes that occurred to Clarisse.